Baltic Horizon Fund today announces the release of its Annual ESG report 2022.
Baltic Horizon launched its ESG strategy in 2019, and in the subsequent years, despite a challenging economic environment, the fund has increased its level of ambition, aligning efforts to contribute to Northern Horizon Capital Group’s net zero carbon commitment by 2030 and the latest reporting regulations.
“Baltic Horizon Fund’s activities are built around the purpose to deliver value to its investors. We believe that the only way to ensure long-term value creation is by doing business in a financially, environmentally, and socially responsible way. In 2021, we started the preparations to report on EU Taxonomy alignment, and in 2022, we conducted full EU taxonomy alignment calculation which has given us an even deeper understanding of our assets and operations as well as the best practice criteria for policies and procedures,” commented Tarmo Karotam, Fund Manager of Baltic Horizon Fund.
The fund’s ESG strategy is centered around the following core elements:
- Responsible investments – ESG factors are integrated in the investment strategies and sustainability risks are considered in the investment decision-making process.
- Social value – We aim to deliver the highest wellbeing standards to all our stakeholders and to contribute to local communities.
- Environmental impact – Our focus is not just on reducing carbon emissions but also on energy optimization, transitioning to renewables and mitigating all possible pollution sources related to real estate.
- Governance – We strive for transparency and the highest standards in reporting and policies, thus continuously updating corporate policies and frameworks based on the latest recommendations and reporting standards such as SFDR.
ESG performance highlights 2022
In 2022, Baltic Horizon participated in the GRESB assessment for the fourth time. The fund achieved a score of 83 points (from 100) reaching a 4-star rating (out of 5 stars), thereby exceeding its goal to reach 3-star level.
After signing as a Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (“SFDR”) article 8 Fund in 2021, Baltic Horizon conducted EU Taxonomy alignment calculation in 2022 to determine the percentage of sustainable activities of the portfolio.
During the second half of 2022 as the energy prices increased dramatically, the fund initiated a range of proactive measures to achieve immediate energy consumption reductions. The energy usage was successfully reduced by an 9-15% in the retail assets. Similar efforts were undertaken within the office buildings. These efforts had a substantial influence on the total GHG emissions for 2022 which were 27% less than in 2021.
The full ESG report 2022 in English is attached and can also be found on the Fund’s website at https://www.baltichorizon.com/esg/.
The Estonian translation of the report will be made available on the Baltic Horizon Fund website https://www.baltichorizon.com/et/esg/ by 24 July 2023.
